Of Carrots and Potatoes
by Devin Trinidad
Summary: Jane's feeling down-a sight most terrifying for the royal gardener. So, Rake decided to cheer her up.


A young man in the royal gardener's garb of Kippernia was walking around the castle in the middle of planning some new fertilizer for his garden. What should he use, he thought. Cow or dragon dung? Rake also needed to create a plan that would span over the next few seasons in order to produce acres of produce. He could only hope that when he had finished his little experiment, it would help out the royal family and the rest of the kingdom. As he walked and hummed down the beaten path of the castle grounds, he happened to stumble upon an unusual sight.

A young woman, almost the same age as the gardener, was hunched on the ground. Her hands covered her face, and her shoulders were heaving up and down as if she were…Oh no, the young man thought in shock. Sick with the idea that one of his best friends was crying, the gardener raced over to the redhead.

"Jane, are you all right?" The timid voice of the castle's gardener shook the young lady knight from her reverie. She was looking quite glum and reserved, a stark contrast to her usual demeanor. Also, her posture was terrible—she slouched on the ground like she had the entire world bearing down on her shoulders. "Perhaps…" Rake stumbled for an appropriate phrase, "you need some help?"

Jane slowly shook her head and looked up at the older brunet. A wry smile brightened her features, but the glow of her smile didn't reach her eyes. A stab of distress pierced Rake like he had been pricked by some of his prized roses. His eyes were soft, but they were still full of protective concern for his dear friend. Once Jane took note of his careful disposition, Jane quickly began to pretend to visibly brighten at his concern.

"Sorry, Rake…I am just thinking." She leaned her head back on the brick wall that stood solemnly behind her. As she let her countenance face the gentle rays of the afternoon sun, Rake caught wind of the track of dried tears that made its way down her cheeks like a silver river. The young man gasped, reacting as if Jane was dying or something of the sort. At the sound, Jane started before smiling softly as if she were in a daydream. "Do not be worried."

"Not worried?" Rake could have shouted from the rooftops and from the mountains—he practically shrieked his disbelief. Did she not realize that she was Jane, the fiercest lady knight he had ever met? She was not supposed to act like this! "Are you hurt anywhere?" His eyes tried to find any slight clues that would have shown that some part of her had been hurt. The Jane that he grew up with, the fierce young lady he knew, would have never stooped so low as to cry over something trivial. Surely she must have been hurt somewhere, right? "Do you require a physician?"

Jane weakly chuckled before she shook her head.

"Sit with me for now. Everything is near ruin anyhow."

Her words carried a certain weight to them, and they pressed on Rake. It was like he was pushing his wheelbarrow filled with vegetables uphill. Without a word, the gardener sat next to Jane, not minding that she was close to him. Once their knees touched, Jane let her head rest on his shoulder, a slight shudder overtaking her frame. Normally, Rake would have balked at how scandalous this scene must have looked, but his friend needed him. She was hurt by someone or something, and what was most surprising was that she didn't seek Dragon's help.

"Mother approached me today. I thought she was going to inform me of my duties or wish me good day."

"What did your mother say?" Rake was hesitant to ask. What could the Lady Adeline have said to make her daughter so upset? What could have been so terrible that would have made Jane look like she was mourning the loss of a friend? "It cannot be that bad, can it?"

"Oh, it is, Rake! It really is!" Jane paused to sniffle for a split second. "I'm about to come of age, and you know what ladies my age are supposed to do." Her face grew blotchy, and her hands trembled while she tried her hardest to clench them into her fists.

A look of understanding was on Rake's face as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew that Jane's family came from a long line of nobility always serving royalty. Honestly, when he was younger, he always thought that she would marry someone of her own station. Jane's grandfather had saved the people of Kippernia back when the kingdom was in turmoil because of war. Even her mother served as the lady in waiting and her father was not only chamberlain, but he was one of the major advisors for the king. It was only natural that Jane would live a life that was meant to be kept safe from all harm.

"Jane, it cannot be all that bad! You are one of the renowned knights of King Caradoc, you have a dragon for a friend, and—and!" Rake paused for a moment before he came upon an idea that was sure to make his dear friend smile. "You have singlehandedly bested Gunther on many occasions." His words came out like a waterfall, completely uninhibited and rushed. However, he still kept on racking his brain for more reasons that everything was going to be all right.

Still, though, she smiled at his encouraging words and his uninhibited fervor to make her feel better.

"Thanks, Rake, but I doubt that the last statement warrants any merit." She had ceased crying and her entire demeanor considerably brightened. "But I appreciate your sentiment." The young lady knight had felt loads better than when she had first encountered the royal gardener.

"Besides, if you were able to become a knight, surely you can reject marriage." Not that he advocated the idea that Jane end up all alone. The thought of Jane ending up as an old maid was not appealing to him.

Noticing that Jane still somewhat doubted herself, the gardener began to think of an idea.

"Wait here a moment!" Dashing quicker than he had ever ran in his life—and that included the time he had been placed on the roof because of an April Fool's prank—Rake entered his gardens that were on the other side of the castle. With deft fingers that were used to plucking nasty weeds and tenderly stroking his produce, he plucked a few choice flowers that were rooted innocently in the ground. With a broad smile, Rake took hold of these plants and placed them in his hands as if they were his children.

Nodding to himself, he said, "This should be all right."

Without so much as a hello to Smithy—he was hauling a few barrels of supplies back to his workshop—Rake ran back to the exact same spot where he had left his friend. To her credit, Jane looked surprised at what he carried within his arms. If anything, a warm smile had lit up her face; she looked for all the world that she was given jewels and the entire world.

"Rake…you didn't have to—"

"And here are the finest plants in my garden!" Rake held up a carrot in one hand, a look of pride settling in his eyes. "The lustrous carrot named Lady Orange! However, she is not only just a carrot, she defends the rest of my garden from weeds!" With a shout, Rake reached into the pockets of his work clothing and threw up an array of weeds and dirt. "Look at how Lady Orange parries the weeds and saves my cabbages and potatoes from the weed's cowardly malice!"

Jane resisted the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Encouraged, Rake continued with his little play.

"Alas, a problem has arisen!" From his pocket, Rake retrieved a potato and held it up for Jane to observe. "Lady Orange's mother, a fierce warrior quite like her daughter, has issued a proclamation!" Rake frantically gestured for Jane to respond to his story.

"Oh dear! What was the problem!"

"Mother Potato, for that was Lady Orange's mother's name, said," Rake awkwardly coughed for a second and in a falsetto he continued, "that it was now Lady Orange's time to enter the height of any vegetable that has ever lived in the garden: the cooking pot. However, Lady Orange was not going to have it. Getting cooked in the pot? Nay! Not for this vivacious warrior! She summoned all of her courage and told her mother—"

"Enough, Rake," Jane teased as she finally moved away from her seated position. Her face was bright and the tracks of tears that were visible on her face only moments ago appeared clear. It was as if the events that led up to this moment never happened.

"Was my story not good enough? Shall I get Jester?" Rake immediately felt that he had failed his friend. Was his story not good enough? Had he accidentally offended her while he was telling his tale? Did she not like his carrot?

Jane shook her head quite amiably.

"No, this is just what I needed. Thank you."

W ithout a second's hesitation, the lady knight of Kippernia smoothly stood from the ground and pounced on the gardener with a strength of a battalion. For a second, Rake blanked. All Rake could think of was that her embrace was warm, her hair had the cloying scent of sweat and dirt, and that she was clutching him tightly like she never wished to let him go. Belatedly, Rake brought up his arms to return the hug, but Jane suddenly let go.

"Rake, you are an angel!" Jane mischievously smiled and gently kissed his cheek in gratitude. "I'll be sure help you weed your garden when you need it."

And with that, Jane flew from the wall and into the castle. Presumably, she was going to talk to her mother.

As for Rake, well…

"Oh dear," he muttered to himself. A shaking hand caressed his cheek, it burned like Dragon's flames. "I must be bright red like my tomatoes!"


End file.
